The Archimedes Project

Perseus has just commenced work on the Archimedes Project with the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPI). Located in Berlin, the MPI concentrates primarily on the history of mathematics and the natural sciences, but also supports some projects in the human sciences. The roots of the Archimedes Project go back to December of 1997, when the National Science Foundation sponsored, and Perseus hosted, a workshop on "Electronic Publication in the History of Science." Since then, the MPI has sponsored a Perseus-trained Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Mark Schiefsky of Harvard University. Mark's work at the MPI has been instrumental in laying the groundwork for this new collaboration.

The History of Mechanics
With the Archimedes Project, the Max Planck Institute and Perseus hope to implement new technologies to make historical sources more accessible over electronic networks. The project focuses on ancient, medieval and early modern texts dealing with the study of the origins and development of mechanics. A key area in which Perseus plans to lend its expertise is the provision of more general tools for effectively handling texts in different languages.

Challenges: New and Familiar
Making the sources for the history of mechanics electronically accessible creates a particular set of challenges. Perseus has faced some of these issues over the course of the creation of the Perseus Digital Library. Other problems, however, are unique to the set of materials with which the scholars at the MPI are working. It is hoped that the extensive research and development already performed at the MPI will be supplemented and enhanced by the addition of Perseus tools and resources for database development, access and retrieval, and lexicographical study.

Implications for the Humanities
As the MPI and Perseus embark on the Archimedes Project, we hope to bring attention to the ways in which new technologies may transform the study of both the history of science and the humanities. This project will not simply address problems specific to research in the history of mechanics, but also some of the general issues of electronic publication confronting the humanities at large. For instance, the necessity for the implementation of standards for presenting texts, images, manuscripts, diagrams, maps, and drawings in electronic form is an area of great concern to Perseus and the Stoa Consortium (see the article here.) Additionally, one of the foremost goals of the Perseus Project is the realization of the potential of electronic information processing for scholarly work in the humanities. With the Archimedes Project, the Max Planck Institute and the Perseus Project hope to enhance the study of the history of science, and propose generic ways of presenting various types of electronic materials to the widest possible audience.

On a Related Note . . .
In March the Perseus Project participated in a workshop entitled Structures of Planning and Organisation of Knowledge in the Construction of the Florentine Cupola, organized by the Max Planck Institute and the Opera di S. Maria del Fiore. The workshop focused on the future development of a textual database for the codices of the Archivio dellÕOpera designed by the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore. This database will document the construction of Filippo BrunelleschiÕs famous cupola, and also provide documentation of the religious, political, economic and social structures of Florentine society in the early Renaissance.

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document placed on-line 6/21/99, LMC